Rep. Adam Smith calls on Congress to rein in ‘chaos’ of college football after UW QB transfer

Congressman Adam Smith, D-WA, a lifelong University of Washington (UW) fan, said Congress needs to step in and bring “some semblance of order” to college football after UW Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced he’s entering the NCAA transfer portal despite reportedly signing a contract to return to Washington just days earlier.

“A whole bunch of things are disturbing about this,” Smith told “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. “First of all, commitments apparently mean absolutely nothing now. If you sign a contract and then think that the contract doesn’t mean anything? You make that commitment, and you just tear it up?”

Smith, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, joined KIRO Newsradio to discuss potential U.S. military involvement in Venezuela and Greenland. But as a 1990 UW Law School graduate and self-described “University of Washington die-hard fan,” he had plenty to say about the situation unfolding on Montlake.

Demond Williams’ agent drops him after transfer portal announcement

Smith said the transfer portal has “disrupted college football.”

“As I understand it, we promised Demond Williams Jr. $4 million for one year of playing college football. I think that’s probably a pretty good deal,” Smith said. “You don’t need to detonate contracts and alienate people to do it.”

The situation took another turn Thursday when Williams’ agent announced he was cutting ties with the quarterback.

“I have made the decision to end my representation of Demond Williams Jr. effective immediately due to philosophical differences,” Wasserman Football President Doug Hendrickson wrote on Instagram. “Demond is an incredible talent, and we wish him and his family the best in their future endeavors.”

Williams, a star sophomore quarterback, announced on social media Tuesday that he’s entering the transfer portal. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Williams had signed a name, image, and likeness contract in the mid-$4 million range just four days earlier, putting him near the top of the market for college football.

UW officials suspect another school contacted Williams after he signed what Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported was a “legally binding revenue-share contract.” According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, UW is “prepared to pursue legal action to enforce the terms of the contract.”

“Legally, it’s gonna get super messy, because these contracts are different than they are in pro sports,” Feldman told 710 Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “It’s just the wild, wild West, and this is the latest example of it.”

SCORE Act failed in Congress. What happens now with NCAA transfer portal reform?

Smith pointed to the SCORE Act, a bipartisan bill that would have given the NCAA greater power to regulate NIL deals and transfer rules. The bill was pulled from a House vote in December after it failed to garner enough support, according to USA Today.

“I think Congress should act to bring some semblance of order to the chaos that is college sports,” Smith said. “But we have to make sure that we do it in a way that doesn’t just empower the most powerful conferences and the most powerful teams.”

Smith emphasized that the fallout from college sports chaos extends beyond marquee programs.

“It doesn’t just affect the sports that we watch on TV,” he said. “It affects tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of athletes playing tennis, volleyball, all manner of other things, which are really important for young people having those opportunities in college.”

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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